ASU tuition up 20%: Finding merit scholarships to cover the cost

With the *cost of college education rising all the time, homeschoolers need to make use of all the possible options for college scholarships.  For Arizona residents attending Arizona State University, University of Arizona or Northern Arizona University, some great merit awards are available for any qualifying students.

The state schools have three scholarships through the New American University Scholar program which are merit-based and tied to SAT or ACT test scores, class rank and GPA (Grade Point Average).  These are offered only to incoming freshmen and provide “a monetary award and an environment focusing on knowledge, learning and research, plus resources toward understanding and helping solve society's most pressing challenges.”

This program includes the following awards

• President's Award:  $9000/year
• Provost's Award:  $7500/year
• Dean's Award:  $2750/year

Exact criteria are not given for the qualifications for each one, but ASU does provide a Freshman Merit Scholarship Estimator. The test scores and GPA (and class rank for non-homeschoolers) are plugged in and students can get an idea of what fundsmay be available to them.  The parameters are likely to be a bit fluid each year since the achievement levels of the student pool will vary from year to year.

Another great scholarship is connected to the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Program, accessed only by high scores on the PSAT.  The scholarship award at ASU for this category is $13,000 annually.

Homeschool dad, Derek Davis of Mesa, has two students who qualified for the President’s Award, and he shares some insight about the scholarships and the award process.

This is an ongoing issue parents often have with ASU and other universities - the fact that they generally do not publicize the exact criteria for these scholarships. . . 

This, of course, makes it hard for parents (homeschooling and otherwise) to plan.  Sometimes, one can squeeze last year's cutoff points out of a scholarship administrator, but they are very quick to remind you that this
is not a commitment for the future.  One way that the homeschooling community could better serve its own interests would be by collecting historical (anonymous) data from its own members regarding scholarships
received and the recipient's qualifications.

At $9000/yr (renewable to cover a total of 4 years), [the President’s Award] used to cover tuition and some of room/board -nearly a so-called "free ride".  Now, due to *dramatic tuition increases, it no longer covers all of tuition and fees, especially for an Honors College student, which both Mareike and Severin are.

*  Arizona universities have had tuition hikes between 36-38% from 2007 to 2010 and another increase of 20-22%  just for 2011.  Annual tuition alone for ASU this year is $9,716  for incoming freshmen. Room and board can run an additional $9,700 a year.  Other expenses include books and various fees bringing the in-state total easily to an excess of $20,000 per year.

Next: The process for homeschoolers to get ASU scholarships 

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